On 30-31 March 2023, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Bucharest Nine (B9) in Łódź, Poland. Items on the agenda included Russian aggression in Ukraine, support for Ukraine, the transatlantic relations, preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius, and cooperation
Edgars Rinkēvičs stressed the need to continue all support for Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor state, Russia. The Foreign Minister also called for seeking the ways to deepen the strategic partnership with Ukraine in the long term, both on the part of NATO Allies and Ukraine. This requires ideas for future NATO-Ukraine relations with a view to the day the war is over. We welcome the fact that Ukraine, despite the war going on in the country, goes ahead with institutional reforms that are needed in the process of its Euro-Atlantic integration, Edgars Rinkēvičs emphasized.
With a view to the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, it is essential to make progress in implementing the decisions of the Madrid Summit to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence capabilities. The establishment of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence brigade and other measures to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank are important to Latvia. The Foreign Minister also said he hoped for the rapid full integration of Finland and Sweden into NATO to make the Alliance even more united and capable.
Given the complicated security environment, cooperation between NATO and the European Union needs to become even closer and more coordinated. The participants underlined the increasing involvement of EU Member States in the EU Military Assistance Mission in Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine). The improvement of the military capabilities, industrial capacity and military mobility in the EU is also an important contribution to NATO’s collective security and defence capabilities.
The Bucharest Nine format comprises Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.